Ritter trial kicks off
Beloved character actor John Ritter died while taping "8 Simple Rules," but his family feels he didn't have to. They're suing two of the doctors who treated him for 67 million bucks, giving us the story below.
GLENDALE - Opening statements are scheduled today in the trial of a $67 million wrongful death suit by the family of comic actor John Ritter against two doctors.
The civil suit was originally filed on Sept. 3, 2004, in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, the Burbank Emergency Medical Group and several doctors. It was transferred to the Glendale courthouse three months later.
The suit was brought on behalf of Ritter's widow, actress Amy Yasbeck; their daughter Stella; and Ritter's children from his first marriage to Nancy Morgan: Carly, Tyler, and Jason.
The family has already received more than $14 million in settlements, including $9.4 million from the hospital, where Ritter died, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The current trial will deal with the care Ritter received from radiologist Matthew Lotysch, who interpreted the results of a body scan the actor had in 2001, and cardiologist Joseph Lee, who treated him the night he died.
Ritter was taping ABC's "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" when he fell ill on Sept. 11, 2003. The 54-year-old actor was taken to Providence Saint Joseph's -- across the street from the Burbank studio -- at about 6:10 p.m. that day, complaining of "chest pain and tightness, nausea, vomiting and dizziness," the suit states.
For the rest of the story about the late Jack Tripper, click here.
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